Which Basic?

[Odhanan]

Is this a poll about the version you STARTED with, or the one you PLAYED THE MOST?

I'm asking because my answer would be quite different, depending on the basic thread assumption.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Mentzer.

I'm pretty certain (that is, 100%) that is was Companion rules, and not Challenger.

 

[Festivus]

I feel old. I can remember we had the blue covered book, and the AD&D DMG... nothing else to start with. I have no idea the year now, but pretty sure it was the Holmes edition.

 

[Guillaume]

I was sure that it was Mentzer. However looking over the link, I found out I started with Moldvay and played with it for about six or seven years before moving on to AD&D 2nd and then GURPS and then coming back to D&D 3.0

 

[Odhanan]

"I started in AD&D, in 3e, or later" - I'm puzzled by this option too. AD&D was published in 1978. First Ed anyway. Is it covered by this option? The "later" seems to mean "AD&D 2nd edition", though it's not mentioned. It's confusing, to me.

 

[Celebrim]

Moldvay/Cook shortly after its release.

Some of the friends who started playing with me picked up the Mentzer copy in the 1983-1984 time frame. I don't think we noted any compatibility issues or rules changes if there were any. We just presumed all changes were cosmetic and kept playing basicly as we had been.

My group moved by steps into AD&D sometime probably around 1985, adopting the Players Handbook first because of the race/class combinations, then the Monster Manual for its expanded monster lists, and then the DMG by stages as we came to understand the rules. Was pretty fully AD&D by 1987 or so, and by 1989 I was using alot of obscure rules that weren't widely adopted (Weapon vs. Armor modifiers, for example).

Changed group about then. Continued to play 1e through about 1995 with slow adoption of some of the 2e rules (Bards, Dragons, probably a few other things) while still using the 1e books as the primary reference. Quit D&D for GURPS due to growing frustration with some of the limitations and inconsistancies of the rules and came back again about 2001. Now playing 3.0 in a modified form with some changes ported from 3.5 and will likely to do so for the foreseeable future.

 

[Uder]

Got Holmes first, played B/X most. Well, I played AD&D most, but I used a lot of B/X rules.

 

[Scotley]

I put the blue box because that was my first exposure to the game, but we only used it very briefly. The AD&D books were the new and exciting way to go. I've been an early adopter of every edition since, but I have not abandoned 3.5 or pathfinder in favor of 4e. I'm playing all three.

 

[delericho]

Mentzer - the one with the same artwork as the new Red Box.

Then on to Expert, Companion, and then into AD&D 2nd Edition, 3e, and 3.5e. I've played (and run) some 4e, though it's not my system of choice.

 

[IronWolf]

Moldvay for me. Fond memories! And I too wish the new Basic set was a retro Moldvay set....